The Reign of Something Different
by InferiorBeing
Summary: Complete! Pairing: LinkSheik When you can take no one for granted, when you are thrust where you must fight or be destroyed, when you are falling in love with someone you must lie to, what can rule the Chaos?
1. Preface

_Author's Note:_

  


**_Rio:_** Yes, I have decided to turn my hand to Legend of Zelda.

**_Ryu:_** Finally, she has been thinking about this idea for ages!

**_Rio:_ ***nods* Yes, and now I am going to post it. Thanks for the support UmbrielBluethorn! I would have never gotten this far without you. *hands out chocolate covered Duo*

  


Anyway this first "chapter" is not a chapter per say, its just the information that I need to say so I don't get sued. 

  


**Pairing:** Yes, Link/Sheik(Fierce Deity), its a confusing one. I will explain right now that there is no triangle in this fic. Sheik and the Fierce Deity are one and the same. I will explain this in the first chapter, which is posted with this anyway. Also this is apparently Yaoi, boy/boy, unless you see something different than what I do, then that's just your problem. If you are uncomfortable with this, please don't read. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable with my fic. I do not believe this fic will be graphic the way I'm going, but if someone really wants a lemon between Sheik (as Sheik or the Fierce Deity, remember two forms one being), I will be pressured into writing one. I give into peer pressure on here very easily.

  


**Disclaimer:** This is a Legend of Zelda fanfic. The very fact that you are not paying any money to see this might clue you into the fact that it is not being sold, therefore it is not copyrighted (though I will not be pleased if someone copies the plot without permission) and I do not own it! Heck, I don't even own the English language which I write in. (I'm just another poor Highschool student, lay off)

  


Also, I would like to mention Jada Topaz's fic _Error_ just because someone who looks really close might be able to say I copied her idea of the Fierce Deity and Link. I pity anyone who has enough time on their hands to sit down and do this. I did not mean to copy anything from her fic (which is the better of the two different Link/Fierce Deity fics that I have read I might add), and if I did I am very sorry. I don't think I did, but I will not say that I did not read her fic (and I enjoyed it very much) and that it did not give me the inspiration to post this fic, because that would be lying.

  


**Setting:** This fic is set between the end of the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. In the beginning there might be some things that don't seem to add up (like the fact that Link does not get sent back in time by Zelda). I will have covered all of these by the end of the fic, so please be patient with me! If you really think I have overlooked something and will not be fixing it, by all means alert me to the fact. Again this fic is not AU, it is just a bit different from the way Nintendo shows it. ^.^ But then again that is the point...

  


**Warning: **Just some bashing warnings. Gannandorf...I hate him. Therefore I am prone to hurting him. I don't know of anyone who really adores Gannandorf but at least you are all warned. (He doesn't really appear in the story, just a side plot thing...) ALSO, even though I don't personally hate the goddesses, well, they come off as the evil characters in this fic...unless you hate the Fierce Deity and are on their side...which someone might do. I have no clue how any one person will respond to this. Anyway just be warned that the Goddesses are not nice and cuddly anymore. 

  


**_Ryu:_** We (meaning Rio) will not beg for reviews, but we would be very happy to get some as well. 

**_Rio:_** Do as you see fit, we trust your decisions!

**_Ryu:_** *whispers* Rio, should we really do that?

**_Rio:_** Don't see why not...

  


**_Ryu:_** ^.^ Enjoy the story!

  


  


_Signed,_

Rio Scar, the FlowerofBlackFire


	2. Reflections: Ferocity's Rebirth

**The Reign of Something Different**

**Chapter One:**

_**Reflections: Ferocity's Rebirth  
**_  
  


Link has been sealed in the Chamber of the Sages, Zelda." Impa spoke, watching Hyrule's princess for a reaction. "Now we only need wait seven years."   
  
"Yes, but Gannandorf finding the sacred realm was not what we had planned." Zelda frowned. Impa saw a familiar gleam in her princess' eyes, a look which meant that Zelda was thinking of taking matters into her own hands.   
  
"You must not do anything rash, Princess," Impa said sternly. "You do not have the power needed to fight and win against Gannandorf's minions."  
  
"But I can't sit around and do nothing!" Zelda lost her temper and glared at Impa. The Sheikah watched the young princess impassively. "Last time I stood back, and now Gannandorf is in the sacred realm. I can't just sit back and watch him destroy Hyrule."   
  
"But what can you do?" Impa asked. "Without jeopardizing your life, Princess, what can you do? Link is safe in the Chamber of Sages. Not even Gannandorf can get to him now."  
  
"What about after Link comes out of the Chamber?" He'll be seven years older without having lived those years!"  
  
"That is the price that must be paid," Impa said simply.   
  
Zelda sighed, looking downcast, and Impa left her charge alone. Zelda had been more and more pensive lately, so Impa knew that now she wouldn't have responded to anything Impa said anyway.   
  
For a long time Zelda stayed in the small room. They were in Impa's house, a quaint cottage secluded deep within the Kokeri Forest. The room in which Zelda sat was a library, with many shelves of books, all of which were connected to the Sheikah in some way. Zelda herself had been reading a history book of the Sheikah before Gannandorf arrived at Hyrule Castle yesterday. Impa had left the book on a table, and Zelda found her thoughts drifting toward its contents. _  
  
The Sheikah believed, as some other races did, that they were descended from the deities that created the world. Unlike the other cultures, they believed that instead of three creators, there were four. The goddesses created the world and its first inhabitants, but while Farore created those that would uphold the laws, they were all spirits, connected to and dependent on nature. Din thought there should be races of creatures that were not dependent on nature, but Nayru said there should be a balance of creatures. Still, Farore argued that she had created all the beings that should be allowed to live on the world. From this dispute was born the fourth deity, a god who was the balance between his goddess "mothers," possessing Farore's mischief, Nayru's wisdom, and Din's temper. It was because of his temper that he was called Fierce by the other creators. He settled all of the disputes between his mother goddesses, and he created the Sheikah in his image. When the "triforce" was created, the three gold triangles were held together by a fourth triangle in the middle, a triangle made of a pure black rock called onyx.   
  
The Fierce Deity, as he was called by his creation, the Sheikah, was enthralled by the actions of his people. So close did he become to the early Sheikah that the goddesses became suspicious of his actions. They believed that their son was plotting against them, trying to teach his people skills that would allow the Sheikah to control the world, and so they threw him to the earth, and imprisoned his power and spirit inside a mask. Anyone could invoke his powers by wearing the mask, but wearing the mask only created a duplicate of Fierce's power for the wearer's use. This was Fierce's final punishment, to be forced to watch as mortals wielded a copy of his power, and unable to help them. Many died because the power was too much for them.   
  
But the goddesses were not done yet. In order to assure that Fierce's powers were not reborn within one of his creatures, they removed his piece of the triforce and shattered it, leaving the triforce Zelda was familiar with.   
  
_Zelda moved along Impa's cottage, deep in thought, going to what would be her room for who knew how long. She walked into the room and was immediately drawn to the fireplace. Every room in the cottage had one, and every fireplace had something on a mantel above it. In this room the mantel decoration was a carving of a boy with long white hair, dark clothes, pale skin, red and blue war paint, and smoldering eyes. He did not look angry, just betrayed. Zelda moved closer to the carving. The face seemed more prominent than the other features, and for some reason, Zelda felt compelled, as a young child might be, to touch that face.   
  
Her fingers grazed over smooth wood, and as they did, the triforce on her hand blazed.   
  
"_Hello, Little One_," said a rich tenor voice. The voice was kind, but born of a stern mindset, like Impa's, but male. It sounded of Digongo's roaring and battle raging, but was also quiet, as if the full voice would be too much for a mortal to survive hearing.   
  
Zelda did not fear the entity to whom the voice belonged. Nothing made any type of logical sense, but she was still a child, young enough to believe in fairy tales and extraordinary happenings. And just like any other child she knew that this was the Fierce Deity that she spoke with now.  
  
"_You need not fear me, Little One. I am very weak. Without the powers of another goddess, I will cease to exist. Only my power will still be trapped here._" At the mention of the power of another goddess, Zelda looked down at her hand. The triforce was still glowing faintly.   
  
"Could I help you?" she asked softly. She felt a being's eyes move to look at her hand, and then she heard a gasp of surprise.   
  
"_Nayru's power. So, all of the creators' powers have been reborn._" Zelda felt, rather than saw, the being smile.   
  
"Except the Fierce Deity," Zelda murmured.   
  
The being sighed. "_That is to be expected, with there only being one of my people left, and she doesn't seem too keen to have children."_  
  
Zelda smiled. "Not now, anyway. But you said something before about using the power of another goddess. Could you create someone.....or something....like that?"  
  
"_I could. By working through the power of one of the goddesses, I could create a Sheikah to carry on my power and soul, just as you, Princess, carry Nayru, the King of Darkness carries Din, and your Hero of Time carries Farore._"

"You know Link?" Zelda asked, but inside she was jumping for joy. Another triforce piece would mean another to fight against Gannandorf. Maybe she could help Link after all.

"_I know of the Hero of Time._" The Fierce Deity said softly. "_I have watched all mortals for many centuries._" 

"You shouldn't have to be locked up like this, I mean no respect but you are a god after all." Zelda pointed out with a child's logic. "Why don't you create a being for yourself? I would be happy to help you-"

"_If I assist your Hero in the fight against Gannandorf._" the god finished for her. Zelda blushed and looked down at the floor. "_Do not be bashful little princess, it sounds like a fair trade to me, but no one must know of my identity. I need not worry about Nayru because she would not intrude on the privacy of her reincarnation, but if I appear too many times to Link, Farore will figure out who I inhabit and will seek to destroy that being. I don not wish to endanger any more of my people._"

Zelda thought for a moment. "We can fool them! If you can just check up on Link every so often, and make sure that he is all right, and hide what you really look like, we could fool everyone into thinking that you are me-"

"_By switching places in front of him._" The Fierce Deity sounded pleased. "_That is a good idea. I will create this new Sheikah in my image but with many of your features so no one will suspect when we switch._"  
  
"It's perfect!" Zelda laughed like the child she was, clapping her hands together. "Let's do it now!"   
  
The Fierce Deity laughed. "If you insist, Impatient One. Close your eyes, and relax."  
  
Zelda did so, gasping slightly as she felt a power course through her veins. It didn't hurt, it just felt.......weird. After a while, the power disappeared.   
  
"You can open your eyes now," a voice said, but this time the voice sounded real, more alive, and had lost the sound of roaring animals. It was the sound of a living voice.   
  
The princess opened her eyes to see a male replica of herself, but taking a closer look, she began to notice the differences. The Fierce Deity had created a male Sheikah who dressed in formal Sheikah garb. Where Zelda had the golden triforce on her hand, a single triangle seemed to have been cut on his hand and scared over, a black mar against pale skin. The Sheikah had red eyes and platinum hair, as opposed to Zelda's blue eyes and golden hair, but in body shape, he looked just like her.   
  
"There will be some changes in seven years," the Fierce Deity remarked, "but we can just say it was a very good illusion on your part."   
  
Zelda nodded. She could see that the Sheikah boy in front of her would grow to be a warrior in seven years, a perfect guardian for the Hero of Time.   
  
"But what should I call you?" Zelda asked. "I can't call you the Fierce Deity."  
  
The boy smiled. "No, you can't." He thought for a moment. "Just call me Sheik." 

  



	3. Opening the Gate

_Author's Note:  
**Rio:** Well this took a bit longer to write than my normal chapters._

_**Ryu:** Probubly because you were also working on setting up the plot._

_**Rio:** You just keep on thinking that Ryu._

_**Ryu:** ^.^ Enjoy!_

_**Rio:** Oh, and the spacing is really weird on my computer...I'll have to get around to fixing that...maybe it dosen't even show but if it does I am sorry for the inconvienience. It will be fixed by next update!_

  
  


**The Reign of Something Different**

_**Chapter Two: Opening the Gate**_

  
  


Eight years had passed, seven spent in preparing, and one spent in battle, at least that was how Sheik viewed it. Link had decided not to relive his childhood, having figured out that if he went back in time, he would be alone. Sheik had secretly agreed with Link. Having watched Link and helped him, even if now Link thought he didn't exist, Sheik had been intrigued by Link's willpower. The boy had seen death, often caused it, and watched those he knew and cared for oppressed and destroyed.   
  
In one way, Sheik felt guilty that he had tricked Link into believing that he, Sheik, was Zelda. At first, Sheik had tried to act as Zelda would, minus the girlish part, but he'd soon abandoned the idea. Sheik had seen the flash of betrayal that had crossed Link's face when he had switched places with Zelda. Of course, Sheik had tapped into his powers to see what Link was feeling, and he had found joy and loss. Link felt that the one whom he could finally relate to and open up to had been destroyed. Surprisingly, Sheik had needed to stop himself from appearing then, just to tell Link the truth.   
  
"I shouldn't be thinking about this," Sheik murmured. He had a body again. He had his power back. The goddesses didn't know he existed. All he should worry about now is getting back into his realm. Sheik sighed, opening his eyes. He was inside a simple room, his room. All he had allowed Zelda to put in the room was a bed, nothing else. There wasn't even a window to let in light. But Sheik was content to wait there in the dark until Zelda found what he had sent her to look for. 

  
  


No, Sheik could not just fade into the background, now that Gannandorf was destroyed. Where could he possibly go that the goddess' wrath would not hunt his now-mortal self down? Certainly not with the Grudos or the Gorons, for they were Din's people, and Din was a known busy-body (not that he would tell her that face to face) If he stayed with those people she would know in a matter of minutes. No,not even minutes, seconds. The Kokeri and the Deku were Farore's. Farore was the curious one, even though she would not meddle with the lives of her beings she would watch, so she would know as quickly as Din would. Even with the Hyrulians, his time was limited, for they, along with the Zoras, were Nayru's people. Though Nayru was the wisest of the three, and preferred to stay out of her creation's personal lives, she would still find out eventually. Yes, if he stayed in this realm, sooner or later he would be found and inevitably destroyed.   
  
That was why he had to leave this realm and why he'd sent Zelda to look for his temple, the Temple of Chaos. Supposedly, there were five temples in Hyrule. These served as gateways to different places. In order, the five temples were Power, Wisdom, Cunning, Chaos, and Time. The Temple of Time was one of the five and was a gateway to a younger Hyrule (i.e. The realm of Hyrule). Power, Wisdom, and Cunning were gateways tot the realms of the three goddesses, and Chaos was the gateway to his own realm. Inside his realm was the former home of the Fierce Deity, and no god or goddess could be defeated in their own home of their own realm. If he could make his way to the Citadel, what the tower that was his home was called, not even the goddesses could touch him. But it was a one-shot deal. Once he used the power of the Fierce Deity to activate the gateway, he would be powerless until he returned to his rightful place as the God ruler in the Citadel. After he passed through the gateway he would be as powerful as a normal Sheikah until reuniting with his godly powers. But after he passed through the gateway once, it would never open again, not for the Fierce Deity or anyone else.   
  
Sheik sighed again. "Come in, Princess."  
  
Zelda opened the door looking cross. "You could at least wait for me to knock!" But she knew this fell on deaf ears.   
  
"What is the matter now?" Sheik asked. He had ordered Zelda not to come to him unless there was a problem.   
  
"No problem," Zelda smiled. "We found the ruins of a temple."   
  
"Where?" Sheik asked, alert. If it was -   
  
"In the desert. Near the Spirit temple, actually."  
  
But Sheik was already gone from the room. Zelda sighed. He could have said good-bye at least, but what could be expected from a God?   
  
Impa met Zelda as she walked out of the tower. "You told him?" Impa asked.   
  
Zelda nodded. "Then you should also tell Link," Impa continued. "It's only fair. You're a sage, princess. You can feel the emotions of the Hero of Time."   
  
"I know, but I don't want to hurt him again. It was hard enough the first time."   
  
Impa looked at Zelda shrewdly. "You are just being selfish, Zelda. Think of it this way: if Link hurries, at least he may have the chance to say good-bye."   
  
Zelda gasped. She hadn't thought of it that way. And Link had helped to find the temple, so he knew where it was. "Where is he now?" she asked excitedly.   
  
"In the courtyard, waiting for you."  
  
Zelda shook her head. Impa knew her too well.

  
  
Link was waiting impatiently. Not that he had anything else to do, really. He simply wanted this meeting to be over. Seeing Zelda was just too hard now. He couldn't help but see Sheik whenever he looked at her. He had tried to forget the Sheikah, but _tried_ was the important word. He just couldn't forget the teen who had helped him on more than one occasion. Just couldn't forget his voice, nor his eyes, nor... oh he was rambling again. Quite an annoying habit, rambling was.  
  
"Link!" 

Well, here we go again, Link thought. "Hello, Zelda." Link managed a smile, but Zelda grabbed his arm and started to drag him to where Epona was waiting.   
  
"Link, you have to go to that temple we found right away!"  
  
"Why?" Link hadn't seen Zelda this excited in a long time.   
  
"Because you have to say good-bye to Sheik!"  
  
Wait. Hold up! Had Zelda just said what Link thought Zelda had said? "What **are** you talking about?"  
  
"Oh, right." Zelda looked bashful. In her excitement, she had forgotten to tell Link about Sheik's identity.   
  
"Sheik and I aren't the same person. We - - "  
  
But Link was already mounted and gone. Zelda sighed again, annoyed. What was it with males and not listening to her today?  
  
Link barely registered the pounding of the horse underneath him. Sheik was real! Sheik was real! Sure, both Zelda and Sheik had lied to him, but Sheik was real! And Sheik was at the temple they had found...wait a minute. Temple ruins next to the Spirit Temple...i.e. the Requiem of the Spirit. 

It was moments like this when Link felt really stupid.   
  
Halting Epona, Link dismounted, pulling out his ocarina as he did so. It wasn't the Ocarina of Time; no, Zelda had that. Rather, it was the fairy ocarina Saria had given him. Still, it worked, as Link felt the pull of the warp and his visions blurred to be replaced with the view of the Spirit Temple. Now the temple ruins were just a bit south of here...  


  
Sheik viewed the temple with a touch of sadness. What had once been a grand temple was now a tottering stack of ruins. Still the outside didn't really count; it was the inside that mattered. Sheik walked to the middle of the ruins and found a slab of weather-worn rock that had at one time served as an altar, to him. Sheik walked to the back of the altar and brushed away all of the sand that had accumulated over the years. He smiled when the he found the indentation.   
  
Of course, Sheik knew everything about his temple. After all, he had created it from scratch, and this little mechanism was his pride and joy. Sheik placed his palm over the indentation and pushed. Gears long rusted groaned as they were now used, and the altar itself caved in to reveal a ladder leading down into darkness. Sheik grinned thinking that at least it all still worked.   
  
Sheik descended into the gloom, watching in satisfaction as torches lit themselves. He had spent a long time on that spell, so he was glad to see that it still worked, as well. The ladder brought him into a cave-like tunnel, lined with torches, that led to the main room of his temple.   
  
Although weather and sand had eroded the exterior, the interior of the temple remained as if it had been created the day before. Sheik saw the familiar language of the Sheikah that covered the back wall. It told of his story, his power, and his spells, preserved in stone for future generations (if there were any, which Sheik doubted). He saw the guardian statues in the back corners of the room, Sheikah both male and female dressed in full battle armor. He saw the murals on the left and right walls that pictured the creation of Hyrule. All were untouched by either time or elements, all in perfect condition.   
  
At the center of the temple stood the real altar, an onyx altar with the shards of what had been his triforce piece embedded deep within the stone. Sheik walked up to the altar. Placing his palms on the two indentations on the surface of the stone, he called upon the powers of the Fierce Deity and pushed. With a crack the altar shattered, revealing a platform much like the ones Link used with his ocarina, only this platform was black, all black. It was the gate to the realm of the Fierce Deity. Sheik winced as he felt the power start to drain out of him. Just a bit longer... then he would be home.   


  
"Sheik!"  
  
Sheik turned, surprised to see Link running down the hallway. The Hero of Time stopped once inside the large room. Had the circumstances been different, Sheik would have found the look of awe on Link's face gratifying as the Hero viewed his temple, but as things were now, Link had to get out of here before the warp activated. Sheik grimaced. Since he was using the power of the Fierce Deity right now he voice would sound a bit strange, he just hoped Link would listen.  
  
"Link, get out of here!"  
  
Link backed up as he heard two voices merged in one: the voice he knew as Sheik's and another, deeper, one. Link tried to listen to Sheik, he really did. But it was too late, and the chamber filled with a black light. A familiar whizzing sound filled the chamber. Both warriors were claimed by unconciseness as the gate opened and swallowed both God and Hero into its darkness.

  
  


  
  


_Author's Note:_

_**Ryu:** Short but sweet. We will be working up the chapters to be the normal 9 to 11 pages but now its just chapter two and Rio decided to end it there._

_**Rio:** Sure put all the blame on me._

_**Ryu:** You Are the author..._

_**Rio:** And so you say you have no control over what I write?_

_**Ryu: ***nods*_

_**Rio:** Than why am I even listening to you?_

_**Ryu: ***sighes* It must be one of those days when Rio is mad at everything... oh well. We don't know when the next update will be but it will be soon. Review if you have something you want to say. (duh)_


	4. Dilemma

**The Reign of Something Different**

_Chapter Three: Dilemma_

  


As far as the eye could see there was forest. Dense shrubbery mended together with sparse pine trees, which wove together with exotic plants of all kinds. Though most plants normally would never be found near each other because they were so different and needed a different climate, here they all thrived, for this was the Realm created by Farore.

Said goddess was sitting on a chair of ivy, looking at her sisters, whom she had summoned to her realm moments ago. There was rash Din leaning against a poplar tree, who's flaming hair curled around her shoulders and neck, constantly twisting as if truly burning. She wore the clothes which were worn by her followers, the Grudo, but in shades of violent reds and gold. There was calm Nayru, who's blue tresses folded around her body, pulsating like the tides of the water itself. Her body was draped in water itself, that clung to her body but did not halt the movements of her tail, which was her lower body. But one could not overlook Farore herself, who had long hair of a chestnut brown laced with strands of ivy, leaves and flowers which grew naturally amidst her silken locks. She wore the simple clothing of her children, the Kokeri, but her tunic was trimmed in copper strands.

As Farore watched her sisters, her sisters waited for her to speak, Nayru lounging on a cloud-like chair of rain droplets which she had conjured upon her arrival, Din standing impassively watching her earthen sister with masked interest.

Farore finally spoke, her voice low with the sound of baying wolves and shifting leaves. "_He_ is again in with the living creatures."

"Impossible." Din scoffed, her voice sounding of fire and flames and the harsher sound of blade meeting blade on the battleground. "We made sure that He was locked away. He could not break free without our knowing if He could break free at all."

"We would have at least notices if one of our own Creations was possessed by Him, as He would not have a body of his own after all." Nayru agreed, her voice that of waves splashing against the deck of a ship and of storms on the open see, her tail twitching in boredom.

"But He did not posses anyone, Divine sister." Many time I saw through Link's eyes a strange boy dressed as a Sheikah-"

"Then why did you not tell us?" Din hissed, her forked tongue lashing out in her ire.

"Because he deceived me. He and Zelda appeared to be one and the same to my descendant, so I did not question the matter further."

Nayru raised a delicate eyebrow, "My descendant would not help Him."

Din snarled. "Divine sister, you do not even look at your descendant, out of 'respect'. It would be easy for Him to corrupt her mind, especially her younger mind." The perfect fire goddess smirked, "It is understandable, though unpredictable."

"Yes. It was very unexpected." Farore murmured, looking at Nayru. "There was no way you would have known, Divine sister."

Din smiled at the earthen goddess of courage, a cruel and yet perfect smile. "So then, Divine sister, how did you find out He was again walking the earth if you had been fooled by that mortal descendant of Divine sister Nayru?"

"When Link thought that He was Zelda, I felt an immense outpour of emotions which subsided after a few minutes. Time passed and then suddenly I felt the same outpour again. Looking through the eyes of my descendant I saw Him and realized, when Link did, that He Zelda were not one and the same." Farore explained simply.

"You are distraught Divine sister." Nayru murmured. "There is something else that you are not telling us and it weighs heavily against your heart."

"He is in His realm, close to His citadel. But for now He has only the power of a Sheikah, using the power of the Fierce Deity to open the Gate between His realm and that of Hyrule."

"You are still troubled by something." Din commented looking at her nails boredly.

"Of course I am. Link is with Him! I have seen the emotions of my descendant and I know what He could do to them!"

"Calm down Divine sister Farore." Din cut off Farore. "Have some faith in your descendant."

"Faith in your descendant! You are one to talk sister! Did YOU have faith in your descendant?" Farore snapped at Din who raised an eyebrow.

"I matters of emotions I had complete faith in Gannandorf." Din's smile turned cruel. "In matters of power I had my doubts."

"Yes, well Farore's descendant is the exact opposite of yours, isn't she?" Nayru smirked. "She can have complete faith in Link's power but not in his emotions." Nayru paused in thought before continuing. "But He won't be worrying about tampering with Link's emotions now. He would be most worried about regaining his former power first."

"And while He makes His way to the Citadel, we will come up with a way to destroy Him!" Din giggled with glee at the idea of destruction.

Thus the three goddesses began their plotting, plotting to destroy what survived of Fierce and anything that stood in their way.

  


  


  


  


Sheik fought the urge to cry out as he felt the Gate deposit him on the floor of the temple in his realm. Unlike other times when he had used his harp to warp around Hyrule this warp was a painful one because the gate was through realms and not through the space of one realm. And the throb in his head meant that the warp had worked. Blearily he opened his eyes seeing the temple which was exactly like the one in Hyrule except this one was well kept and above ground.

Sheik stretched, his body now fully recovered from the warp and looked around for the Hylian that had accompanied him, albeit unintentionally.

Link moaned as the pain coursed through his body. Well, why shouldn't he, Sheik thought, his eyes softening as he looked at his compatriot. The warp was meant for Sheikah and not for any other race. But Hylians and Sheikah were basically the same, biology wise so Link should have no problem adjusting to the warp. It would just take some time. And time was a think Sheik did not have. The Goddesses knew, he had felt Farore's presence through Link and by now she would have called her sisters to her to come up with a plan to stop him or destroy him. His only hope was to get to the Citadel which was a good five days away if he was the only one traveling. But now that Link was here it would take longer, especially if Link was injured. Link was in way over his head now, and Sheik owed him an explanation at least and he also owed Link to much to leave him here with the temple priests to recover in a strange world. He did not expect Link would wait for him even if it would only take five days. Link would recover in two, maybe even one day. Though the priests would treat Link well and make sure he recovered, outfit him and (if asked) inform him of where he was, it was still not the same as if Sheik had been there. But in retrospect, Sheik had no choice now that the Goddesses knew. Though the Goddesses themselves could not come to his world, the way things stood now they could send minions. Not Creations so to speak, but monsters. Link had successfully beaten Ganandorf's minions but he would not be able to stand against a godling. 

Still deep in thought Sheik gently picked Link off the ground and started carrying him towards the Priest's cloisters.

Maybe that would be best anyway. Farore would send something to take Link back to Hyrule and then Link could live out his life the way he would have if Zelda had not told him of Sheik's existence. (For who but Zelda would have told Link... she probably sent him to say good-bye)

Sheik stepped from the room that housed the now closed Gate into the hall, and immediately an apprentice spotted him, running to get a superior. 

Sheik just waited, looking at the temple hall he had not seen in so long. Fierce had been good friends with the High Priest of the Gateway before he had been imprisoned but still that was a long time ago. The High Priest would be an old man by now, maybe even dead for all Sheik knew.

"Fierce, Deity and Ruler, I am gladdened to see your safe return."

Sheik turned to see a man, very old in age but still of a vibrant mind, dressed in the black robes of his office. Sheik recognized him immediately and smiled.

"It is good to see you again my old friend."

The elderly priest nodded at Sheik's burden. "I see someone else got caught in the Gateway... or did he come voluntarily."

"I do not know, but I suspect the first." Sheik said crisply. "He should recover soon. Link is a Hylian."

"We will see to his recovery, Great One. Will you hasten to the Citadel or are you to wait for him to wake?"

"Time is pressing." Sheik said, knowing that the elderly priest would know what he meant. "I must hasten to the Citadel as quickly as possible."

The elderly High Priest and the Godling Sheikah began to make their way to the empty rooms where the Priests of the Gateway took sick patients and guests that needed a room before resuming their travels. They were silent until Sheik had laid Link down on a bed. The Sheikah then turned to the High Priest almost hesitantly.

"Link is under my protection for as long as he stays here. Make sure the right people know that around here. And do NOT, under any circumstances tell Link who I am or where I am headed."

"He does not already know?"

"Because of certain circumstances Link was not in a position to know my true identity. He knows me only as a Sheikah who helped him in the realm he came from."

"And you wish for him to not be told that the Sheikah he knew and the Fierce Deity are one."

Sheik nodded and dismissed the High Priest before turning to look at Link. Why was this so hard anyway? Within five days he would be himself again, and if Farore had not sent a creature after her descendant by then he would be powerful enough to send Link back. So why could he not just leave Link in the hands of the Priests and go? He should at least say good-bye. Now did the room have any...

Sheik looked around the room noticing the simplicity before seeing the small desk. And where there was a desk there was always parchment and writing utensils.

  


As Sheik had predicted Link woke two days later, feeling only a little sore but very hungry. The High Priest had been alerted and Link found himself after lunch with an old man whom he had never met.

"Greetings chosen of the Fierce Deity." the elder man said, nodding his head in greeting.

Just that simple sentence sent off warning bells in Link's head. First of all he was sick of being "chosen" and also he had no clue who the Fierce Deity was.

"Pardon?"

"Do not fear. The Fierce Deity is our God, the Creator of this realm and of all the beings in it. For one who is not Created by our God to make their way through the Gateway to this realm, and survive, they must be under the protection of the Fierce Deity." 

Link was shown to a chair and sat down across from the High Priest of the building which Link assumed was a temple.

"Now you must be very confused about where you are and why you are here."

Link nodded.

"You were caught in the Gateway when it was opened. The Gateway works like a warp does except it transports one across the realms instead of across the space of one realm."

"So I'm not even in Hyrule anymore?"

"I am afraid I know not of this Hyrule you speak of, but because of that I can tell you you are not anywhere near it. You are in the realm of the Fierce Deity, the lands of the Sheikah, called Venera by its inhabitants."

"Sheikah..." Then Link remembered, "Where's Sheik?"

"If you mean the Sheikah who was with you, who opened the Gate, he was called away urgently shortly after you arrived-"

"Where did he go?"

"To the city of the Sheikah I imagine but I have no way of knowing for sure."

Link felt disappointed. He finally was told the truth about Sheik's identity and Sheik was not there. It was frustrating. But other than that little detail Link was interested in this new world that was so different than his own. It would be a pleasant change from home where so much was expected from the Hero of Time. Here no one knew him except as a stranger. Maybe now he could finally lay down his responsibilities that had haunted him back home and live a normal life, the life Zelda had tried to give him by sending him back in time yet again after the defeat of Gannon which at the time Link could not accept. Link was so deep in his thoughts that he had tuned out most of what then elderly man had said so he only caught the last part.

"...I'll assign one of the apprentices to show you around. But they are all busy today so feel free to walk around and explore. If you get lost don't hesitate to ask."

Link knew a dismissal when he heard one so he left thanking the Priest for his time although Link had no clue as to what the Priest said for most of it.

Link took to wandering around looking at the intricate designs of the building which was indeed a temple. He couldn't read any of the writing but could look at the artistry, one symbol of which confused him. It looked like the triforce, but something was out of place, as if the artist was focusing on the triangle in the middle of the triforce. And then Link realized that must have been what the artist had done. But why?

Link was suddenly thrown out of this thought process because at that moment something or someone ran into him. As they picked themselves up off the floor Link saw who had run into him. A young Sheikah, with white blond hair and blue-gray eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Its no big deal." Link said. "But why is there a Sheikah boy running around a temple of Priests anyway?"

"Well I have to get some medicine for my Grandmother. This temple is dedicated to that kind of stuff... healing and travelers I think." The Sheikah looked at Link and more Link's clothing curiously. "You're not from around here are you?"

"No." Link said then he thought of an idea. "And I'm a bit lost. Do you know if there is a library around here?"

"Yea, sure. I can take you to it." the boy said and proceeded to do just that. "Oh, and by the way." he said as he left Link in front of the library doors. "My name is Solinari. My Grandmother and I live in the city. Feel free to stop by if you need a place to stay."

"Thank you. I'll remember that." The boy smiled and was on his way. Link frowned when he saw that the boy had a harp strapped to his back. That reminded Link of Sheik again. Sighing to himself he entered the library, After a few minutes of browsing around looking he found a book on the religion of Venera and curled up in a chair to read it. 

  


  


_Author's Note:_

_**Rio: **Sorry it took so long, hope you still enjoyed it!_

_**Ryu:** ^.^_

  


_signed,_

_Rio the FlowerofBlackfire_


	5. Decisions of Gods

The Reign of Something Different

_Author's Note: Thank you sooooo much to all the reviewers who pushed me back into the swing of writing. I had originally planned to finish the story on April vacation, but apparently you all won't let me... *dramatic sigh* Oh well, I guess I can cope with that... ^.^_

_And so without further adue:Decisions of Gods, or as I like to call it, the "Sheik figures his fealings out" chapter!_

_Chapter Four: Decisions of Gods_

Sheik looked at the towering structure and, for the first time in hundreds of years, knew he was home. This area, his citadel, _he _had created this area from scratch, void, nothing. It had no residue from the goddesses, no this was his land, his stone, his... home. The Sheikah had a saying, "No one can face the Fierce Deity and his Citadel at the same time" and as the very land and stone of his home called out to him in joyous laughter, he could fully understand that phrase.

His footsteps echoed on the stone of the citadel floors as he climbed the stairs to the top of his home. As he climbed he could feel the power of this place, the untainted love he had poured into this land and his creations, and with it the power of the Fierce Deity that they had known, returning to him. Soaking into his being, his eternal soul. It seemed only yesterday that he had been sealed away inside that worthless piece of wood, only yesterday that he had hid his full power from everyone lest the goddesses find him, but as he reached the top of the citadel and look out over the land he had poured the most of his time and energy into, he felt that once again he truly was a God, not just an immortal with limited powers, but a God.

Sheik stopped abruptly as he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror. He almost laughed at his surprise. Yes, he saw Sheik, but he could also see his former self, Fierce, the Deity that had been betrayed by his own kin. Sheik's hair was longer now falling about his shoulders and lower back, the strands starting out a pale gold at the roots and slowly fading to a pure white at the tips. His body was still the unscarred body of his newer self, but it had inherited the build of his former self. His formal clothing would fit him now, Sheik noticed, and his battle armor, which he almost looked forward to wearing now. Idly he wondered where the priests, who had kept the citadel immaculate in the long years he had been gone, had put his armor. Then with a start, Sheik realized that he was almost giddy with the rush of power now flowing through him, his power.

Sheik, now fully combined with his Godly powers, spent the rest of the afternoon becoming reacquainted with the priests he had known when he was sealed away, and meeting all those who had been born and raised in his absence. There were three orders of priests amongst the Sheikah, all which had been held in the highest respect by all other races when the races and their worlds had been more friendly. The first and most well known were the Priests which watched over the Gate in their temple and were a sanctuary for any weary travelers that happened across their holy ground. The second and more renowned in Sheikah legend were the warrior-priests of the Fierce Deity, the elite group of fighters who would follow their God to death in battle if they had to and were trained body and soul to fight and protect their race and their God creator. The last and least well known were the select group of priests who worked in the Citadel, monitoring the land from the glass room at the top. Glass and silver were excellent conductors for magic and thus a few men could watch over thousands of miles of land with only a few mirrors and time. These were the priests that Sheik most trusted, the leader (now in the later stages of his life but had refused to retire from the position) being one of his consultants back before the betrayal. It was one of his assistants that nearly barreled into Sheik, who was working his way back to the glass room.

"Fierce Deity! One of the glasses have shattered!"

Sheik frowned. Glasses didn't just up and shatter, no they were protected by his power. The glasses (which in reality were large mirrors) should only break when he was hurt... or when his Chosen was hurt. But that was just a legend. Sheik would know if he had Chosen anyone, that required many steps after all. Blood would have had to have been spilt from both people, he would have had to watch over his Chosen for at least a year and then there was the actual ceremony itself which included the whole musical aspect (Sheikahs were very romantic when it came right down to it.)... Suddenly Sheik's blood ran cold, a scene running through his mind.

_"You truly are the Hero of Time..."_

Oh no. The warp songs, the blood spilt in Link's battles with Gannandorf and then with Gannon (not to mention the dungeons), some of which Sheik himself had spilt carelessly while saving Ruto, the watching over of Link for those seven years... Well, at least that explained why he was so loathe to just leave Link behind at the Temple...

Sheik broke into a run, taking the stairs two at a time, his mind going as fast as his feet. If the mirror broke that meant that someone or something had hurt his Chosen. But Link was at the Temple and the priests there knew that Link was under his protection, so only something not from his realm would dare attack Link. And following that thought brought Sheik to only one conclusion: the goddesses had started their attack on his realm. But something rang false even as the logical part of his mind was crowing with victory for coming up with the situation at hand, and that was that Farore would be livid if something hurt her descendant.

Sheik rounded the end of the stairs and burst into the glass room. His eyes seemed to lock on the shards of glass that littered one corner of the room that proved that Link had been injured in some way. Rage blossomed in his eyes and he felt the small trickle of magic roll down his face as the familiar war markings became prominent features again.

"Where are they?" his voice dripped with poison and all shrunk back from the furry of the God before them.

"The Gate's temple was leveled. Dragons." The old priest spoke and in a flourish of raw power, the Fierce Deity was no longer in the room and halfway out of his Citadel.

There were six dragons. Two looked like offspring of that horrid fire dragon that had nearly fried _his_ Link in the Fire Temple of Hyrule. They were most certainly the minions of Din. There were two finned dragons that seemed clouded in vapor, agile creatures with large wings that dwarfed their bodies. These were Nayru's. And then there were the dark forest green dragons that were large and imposing, wingless and sturdy as tree trunks. These were Farore's. But this did not matter. One of them had dared to touch Link, and therefore they would all be destroyed. And he would do this with his own weapon, with his own power. Yes, that would be fitting revenge.

Dark power swirled to surround Sheik, looking somewhat similar to the Shadow power that Impa had used to break the Shadow seal in Gannandorf's castle, but dwarfing that power and making it look like a puff of air compared to this river of black and purple flames that surrounded the irate God. These flames seemed to condense twisting and gaining solidity to form an evil looking broadsword, the blade of which seemed to have been twisted once in the center of the sword.* On the hilt of the sword a single black triangle blazed as did its match on Sheik's right hand.

The dragons did not have time to adjust to a new foe before two of them had already been destroyed, their bodies dissolving into thin air, their essence returning to the goddess who had created them. Two down, four to go, but Sheik did not think to figure this out, as his eyes locked on another dragon target, eyes that were glowing with blackened bloodlust.

Another dragon screamed as it fell under his blade, and the other two fell soon after. Sheik gave up the slowness of killing with a weapon and instead allowed his raw power to cut its way through their bodies. 

With a sudden jolt, Sheik's bloodlust faded and worry set in as he surveyed the ruin of what used to be the grandest temple of his realm. The warriors from his Citadel were just getting to the temple and Sheik barely managed to bark out an order for them to start clearing the rubble to look for survivors. Where was Link? Sheik resigned himself to looking through the mess methodically. Frantic searching wouldn't bring Link to him any faster.

Survivors were beginning to crawl their way out of the rubble by now, aided in part by the warrior-priests from the Citadel. There were more injuries than there were casualties and Sheik knew that this was just the preliminaries so to speak. The goddesses would send more minions soon, and he needed to start preparing his world against these invaders. Not that the Sheikah couldn't take care of themselves against normal monsters, but these minions were almost like demi-gods in their own right.

There was a shout over from one side of the rubble and Sheik moved to the cleared area, only to gape in horror as he beheld the sight that awaited him. The Master Sword, Link's sword, the key to the Temple of Time. Stained. With Blood. Not _his_ blood, no, but blood all the same. But where was Link? Sheik's mind quickly ran to the worst option: Link was in Farore's realm now. But Sheik would not allow that to happen.

"Warriors, find me the one whose sword this is. His name is Link. He is a Hyrulian. Find him. Bring him to the Citadel when you find him."

Sheik collapsed on the now clean floor of the glass room. "Tell me he's still in this realm." the god almost begged the aged priest.

"He is, Fierce one. Where he is, I cannot be certain, but he is still here."

"When will the glass be fixed enough so that you can find out exactly where he is?"

"In a few days, Fierce one."

Sheik cursed. That wasn't good enough.

"You have finally Chosen someone, Fierce one?"

"Yes."

"You must tell the people, Fierce one."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because now all of our prayers have been answered. You have returned to us, and you have your Chosen with you."

"There's one problem, my old friend. Link does not know I am a God, much less that I am the Fierce Deity."

"That barrier is not one which you cannot overcome, Fierce one."

"Easy for you to say." Sheik grumbled, his eyes returning to the working glasses which were shifting between his twenty warriors who were searching for the Hero of Time.

An irate goddess paced back and forth in front of her sisters before stopping in front of the fiery goddess. "Link was hurt! How did this happen?"

"The question is not how your Hero got hurt." Din put in snidely. "The question is why did he resist your summons to come home. And that only you can answer divine sister."

"I don't understand it! I told him what was going to happen! He should have complied without a problem!" Farore resumed her pacing.

"Calm yourself sister, things are now out of your control." Nayru spoke softly, yet sternly. "Can you not feel the link between your descendant and our brother? Fierce has made a stupid decision. He made your descendant his Chosen. That alone could be what it takes to kill him, should Link refuse him."

Farore glared at Nayru. "Oh, but Link will not do that." She hissed. "Once he realizes that Sheik and the Fierce Deity are one and the same, he will not have any objections whatsoever."  
Din giggled. "You mean Link is in love with the elusive Sheikah he thought was merely an illusion cast by Nayru's descendant? Now that is funny."

"I do not find it so funny!" Farore spat at her fiery sister.

"Do not worry, divine sister. To tell Link that he is Sheik, our brother must explain everything else. That will be his undoing." Nayru smiled warmly at her sisters. "He will have no choice but to tell his Chosen the truth, all of it."

Farore slowly stopped pacing, realization dawning in her eyes. Both she and Din returned Nayru's smile, a smile which was tainted with the corruption that is caused by absolute power.

A young Sheikah boy opened the door to a house in the main city of the Sheikah, one that was near the Citadel. The cheery look on his face faded slightly as he beheld the visitor.

"Why do the warriors of the Fierce Deity come here?" he asked timidly.

"You are Solinari?"

"Ye-yes."

The warrior's face softened a bit as he looked at the boy. "We come looking for a Hyrulian named Link."

"Why?"

"He is the Chosen of the Fierce Deity."

Solinari's eyes widened before he opened the door wider. "Grandmother says he won't die from his wounds, but we were worried when he showed up a few hours ago. He could barely walk."

_Author's Note:_

_Next chapter: Sheik and Link... all secrets told. What actually happened to Fierce to make him try to start his life over as Sheik? The true story comes out! (plus some love and fluffy stuff thrown in because I want to write Sheik and Link love already! Enough waiting!)_

_*Remember what Link looks like wearing the Fierce Deity Mask? That's the sword I'm talking about..._

_Here's the deal: 7-9 reviews from you all (I don't' care if it's only the words "update cuz I like it", I really don't), and you get your next chapter! Sounds good right? So start reviewing please!_

_signed, _

_Rio the FlowerofBlackfire_


	6. Designs of a God

**The Reign of Something Different**

_Chapter Five: Designs of a God_

Sheik sat in contemplative silence in the glass room at the top of the citadel. Nothing moved, not a sound was heard. Even the priests who were normally hard at work at the glasses were absent (on a request from Sheik himself). Sheik didn't move, didn't blink, just sat perfectly still on the floor in front of one of the glasses. Seeing something in a glass required this, absolute stillness as you poured power into the mirror-like apparatice. One couldn't even blink, or else the spell would not work. Sheik hadn't blinked in two hours. Nor had he moved, in his two hour vigil, his vigil that he should be spending next to his bed. But he would not. Could not. When Link finally awoke, he could not know that Sheik was here in the Citadel. It was not safe for the Hilian to know that he was the Chosen of the Fierce Deity. Not now at least. Once Sheik had gotten rid of any connections his sisters/mothers had to his realm, then he could tell Link. Then and only then could he tell Link. And as much as it pained him to do this, he would somehow get through it. Sheik watched as Link's eyes parted slowly, and inwardly he felt his resolve start to crumble. He could not let that happen.

Closing his eyes briefly (and therefore loosing the spell) Sheik rose and moved to the door on stiff legs. Turning briefly to the first apprentice he saw, he spoke curtly, "Tell everyone, Link is not to be let in the glass room. Understood?" The apprentice nodded and Sheik turned back into the glass room, not waiting for the apprentice to run off, not noticing a crystallized tear that fell from one of his crimson eyes.

The high priest of the Citadel received the order from the Fierce Deity, but he did not agree with it. Out of all of the people in the Citadel, he had known Fierce when the God was still called that name by his subjects. Out of all the people at the Citadel, he could remember what life had been like under the rule of not one, but four creators. And out of all of the people in the Citadel, including the Fierce Deity it seemed, he had committed to memory when he was still in apprentice stage the entire religion of the Sheikahs and what every paragraph meant when translated into real life. And what Sheik was now doing, by his own rules, would slowly poison him. 

Once the Chosen had been... well chosen, he or she must accept the love offered by the Fierce Deity or else the Fierce Deity would slowly be destroyed. This acception was not something that they could afford to wait upon, this weakspot in the Fierce Deity's armor so to speak. No God could destroy the former Fierce, the current Sheik... and yet this one Hyrulian could. But that would not happen, and that was what the Fierce Deity was afraid of. 

Anyone could see that the boy, Link, was head over heals for the being he had come to know as Sheik, a Sheikah. Yes, the Fierce Deity would have to be honest and tell Link of his one mistake that had lead to his confinement (which in all honesty had been able to occur because the goddesses happened to attack at the moment when Link had been born), but Link would not reject him because of that. One could see that the Hero of Time held only love for the one he had fallen for, and nothing would taint that. But were this to happen, the other creators would be given something with which to crush the Fierce Deity. 

Link was no god, nor was he even a godling or demi-god. Link had only the powers of a mortal when it came to godly affairs, despite the fact that when he accepted being the Chosen of the Fierce Deity he would live forever as an immortal. The goddesses could easily overpower Link, that much had been proven. But were they to do what they had done yesterday after Link accepted... then the Fierce Deity would be hurt also, crippled until Link was well again. And if Farore, the creator of Link, were to take him into her realm (as was her right if Link wanted to go, as any God could bring their creations to their realms as a reward for a richeous life*), then the Fierce Deity would be powerless. 

And here he was, waiting for Link to be brought to him and powerless to tell the Hyrulian that the one he sought was indeed here at the Citadel. 

The door opened silently and said Hyrulian entered the room, dressed in a more Sheikah version of what he normally wore. Most likely ordered by the Fierce Deity, the high priest thought, as his other clothes were more like shreds by the time the dragons were through.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked softly.

"Much." was the answer.

"That is very good to hear, young warrior. I assume this is yours." the high priest said, lifting the now clean weapon that Link knew so well and handing it to the Hyrulian.

"Yes. I was wondering where this had gotten to." Link smiled.

The high priest sank into thought for a few seconds and then decided to risk the question. "May I ask why you are here? You are not from this realm and warping though the space of realms is a painful business. You must have had a good reason."

"I was following someone." Did Link look a little bashful with that sentence? The high priest thought he did.

"Someone dangerous? Perhaps wanted in your realm for a crime of some sort?"

Link shook his head. "No, a friend... I was following a friend."

"A Sheikah?"

"Yes."

"And prey tell, have you found your friend yet?"

Link hesitated. "No."

"That is unfortunate, but I believe I can help you there. I know every Sheikah who has been born here since my time began as high priest. If you tell me your friend's name I may be able to locate... him?Her?"

"Him... his name is Sheik."

The high priest pretended to think hard, knowing full well that no Sheikah had been born in the history of Sheikahs with that name. That name was an alias for the Fierce Deity as he was the First Sheikah, so no one would dare name their child that name. After a moment the high priest frowned.

"There has been no Sheikah born with that name, Link. At least, no Sheikah born in this realm. Is it possible that your Sheikah was born in your realm and came here of his own accord?"

"More than possible actually." Link responded. 

"It's too bad that the glass room is in use right now, because I could have found his location for you in one of the glasses." the priest began the painstaking process of hinting that Link should go up to the glass room. "But maybe that's for the better. The one using the room now is much more skilled than I" This last sentence was said as if it was not important, yet Link caught every word and a resolve to go up to this "glass room" was forming in his mind. 

Sheik had long since stopped watching Link in the glass. He just couldn't do it. Every time he tried, his resolve crumbled even more and he wanted to run down the stairs to the level where Link was. And so he had stopped. He now sat in somewhat peaceful meditation, just trying to clear his mind of all thoughts. It was akin to setting one's mind for battle, except now he was just trying not to think. There was only one problem. His mind seemed to be _trying_ to think. And so he waged war with his mind, trying to forget for just a moment that Link was a good two hundred or so feet below him and all he had to do was walk down some stairs to see him.

The door opened silently, as did all the doors in the Citadel, but Sheik only barely heard footsteps approaching him. Sheik realized instantly who it was and paled, resolve completely gone. Oh, no. Not this, not now... oh, what the heck.

"Is there something you want?" Sheik asked softly, hoping that Link would not recognize his voice yet.

"I'm looking for a Sheikah."

"And the priests sent you up here for my help, I suppose?"

"No. I came by myself."

"Even move deserving of help then. What is this Sheikah's name?"

"Sheik."

Sheik moved a glass slightly and began to pour power into it, all the while with his back to Link. An image appeared, drawn by Sheik's magic, but Link didn't know that, a picture of a Sheikah boy who Link thought he knew.

"Is this him?"

"Yes! Where is he?"

"Studying his heritage."

Link blinked. What kind of an answer was that? "His heritage?"

"Yes. He is reacquainting himself with the way of the Sheikah, and the Fierce Deity." Sheik saw Link stiffen in the mirror reflection. "You know of the Fierce Deity then?"

"I was... warned about him."

"The Fierce Deity is a horrible god to cross, but then again, so are they all. But I doubt you know the real story behind the Fierce Deity and the current hatred spawned for him by those of the Goddesses' creation."

"You mean the Sheikah view him differently?" Link remembered vaguely the dream he had the night of the attack on the temple. Farore had spoken to him, much in the same way that she always did when he was feeling boxed into a corner and had warned him of the treachery of a god called the Fierce Deity.

"Yes, they do. He is our creator, so if he ever betrayed anyone we would know. He did not. He was enthralled by the workings of life, how our people lived, learned, and died. Perhaps too enthralled, so much so that he began to spend more time among his creations than with his relative gods. He began working with them, teaching them to fight in the way that was instinct to himself, watching in fascination as the Sheikah race as a whole evolved their ways of thinking to come up with new ways of fighting. He encouraged this as he saw it as a kinship with his people. The goddesses saw this as a betrayal. What use had a people of weapons and fighting if not to destroy other peoples. They swore eternal hatred against their brother god."

"And Sheik is relearning this? Why?"

"Because living away from the Sheikah for so many years starts to dull the edge of the sword, if you see what I mean. It takes a while to adjust."

"You sound as if you know Sheik." Did Sheik hear a pang of jealousy in Link's voice? He hoped he did, by the lives of his people he hopped he did.

"I know Sheik well." he spoke slowly.

"Then where is he?"

"Take a step forward." Link did so. "You have reached your destination."

"What do you mean?"

Sheik turned to look at Link and saw the Hyrulian's eyes widen. "I am known to you as Sheik, to the goddesses as Fierce, and to my people as the Fierce Deity."

"You're joking."

Sheik shook his head. "No. I'm not."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

Link had to admit, Sheik had a point. Had Sheik told him he was a god when he didn't look so... well, godly-like, Link would have been hard pressed to believe him. But still...

"You still should have told me. I'm tired of everyone not telling me what's going on! First, you show up out of no where and offer no explanation as to where you came from, not that it mattered, but still you get my point. Then low and behold you appear to be Zelda, and she does this little speech about not telling me until the time is right and so on. And then I find out that the entire thing was a lie and you actually exist but are leaving. Now I find out that you left Hyrule because you're a god that every mortal in Hyrule, with the exception of maybe Zelda and Impa, has forgotten about! Is there anything that you're not telling me now?

"I wish I could say there wasn't anything, Link, but that would be lying."

Link leaned against one of the glass walls of the room and looked at the god expectantly, forgetting for the moment that he was dealing with a god.

Sheik raised an eyebrow at Link's behavior before sighing. "All right, I'll tell you. But don't stop me until I'm finished or else I won't be able to continue."

Link nodded. "Deal."

Sheik took a deep breath and began.

*this idea of a god taking a mortal to their realm could be seen as a parallel to Heaven for the folks in Legend of Zelda

_**Rio: **There! You wanted continuation, you got it!_

_**Daemon: **You gave them a cliff-hanger? You learn well young grasshopper._

_**Rio: ***raises eyebrow* I didn't learn anything. They deserved it._

_**Ryu: **No they didn't. It did take you a long time to update, Rio._

_**Rio: **-_-; Oh, yeah... well they'll have to deal with it until I write the next part._

_**Daemon: **Which we will be telling you the date off, by the way, so we don't get any more stalker threats. _

_**Ryu: **April Vacation, i.e. between April 18 and april 24. Two weeks... well minus a day or so. ^.^_

_**Daemon: **Although I wouldn't say that superfluous reviews won't get Rio writing sooner._

_**Rio:** ^.^ One of my faults I guess._

_**Ryu:** Oh, and since there were so many good reviews, we feel we can't just respond with one sentence to everyone, so we are doing *gasp* review replies! _

Review Replies:

**Spellcaster Hikaru** - (do you by any chance know Hikaru-chan?) Heehee, more like weeks, but the next one will be out in days. ^.^ 

**Verda Morrison** - No, no! Don't collapse! It's coming, I promise! It may be coming slowly but when the romance finally arrives it will be extra sappy and lovey... just like all other romance scenes I like to write (well, except the ones for my ghost story...)

**BD** - I will write more of these... just let me finish this one first! ^.^

**Selena-Wolf **- Did you like it? See, I continued!

**Hat Trick1 **- I'm glad you like it, hope this chapter lived up to your expectations.

**Spryte **- I'm glad someone took me seriously about the short review, ~.^ Did you like?

**Hikaru-chan **- Yes, I could join you in Zelda ranting any day. I was yelling at my Nintendo during the battle with Gannon with the whole MSword episode... I have decided, looking back that Zelda was just a very weak character, both physically and figuratively. Sheik is sooo much better. ^.^

**Uuari **- Yup, I love the romance... but there is a lot of issues that come with this particular love scene. ^.^ I'm just wicked sometimes when it comes to plotlines sometimes.

**windrider sylvanon **- Hope I made you and Oni Link happy. Did I? ~.^

_signed,_

_Rio the FlowerofBlackFire_


	7. Eternity

**The Reign of Something Different**

_Chapter Six: Eternity_

It was a land barren of all greenery and living things other than the poor souls that inhabited the rocky cliffs and molten pools. The temperature of the land rose higher than the magma of the Fire Temple and the temperature of the lava found here was twice as warm. This was the realm of Din, and it was here that Farore sought advice and help from a fellow deity.

"You're loosing him you know." Din commented as her greener sister approached the hewn throne that was Din's favorite spot.

"I figured that out already, Din, but he will not listen to me. I've tried warning him, talking to him, one of the reasons it took so long for him to wake in the first place was that I was communicating with him after all."

"Link is easily manipulated." Din commented and frowned as Farore glared at her. "You see for yourself how easily Zelda talked him into fighting my descendant, and now you see how He has woven His way into Link's heart."

As Din spoke a shriek filled the air and Farore cringed.

"He still screams?"

"Yes. Pathetic really. You think by now Gannandorf would be used to it. He should have realized that until I am satisfied that I have purged his weaknesses from him I won't stop the pain." Din shrugged. "Hopeless case I tell you."

"Agreed, but what are we going to do about _my_ descendant?"

"Sister dear, I have been waiting for days for you to ask that." Din grinned. "It's very simple. We trapped him before, we can simply do it again."

"But he broke free from that."

"With the help of Zelda _seven years ago_ because she wanted to make sure that Link was _protected from Gannandorf._"

Farore's smile grew to match Din's. "I think we should pay a visit to Nayru's descendant and tell her exactly what has 'happened' to poor Link."

"Oh let me do the talking." Din giggled. "Lying is so much fun."

Sheik spoke as if he was reciting information out of a text book. Were he not to do this, he was sure he would not be able to move from one sentence to the next. Sheik did not look at Link as he spoke, though he could feel the Hyrulian's unwavering eyes on his own person. Were he to look at Link, he would not be able to speak at all. Any resolve he might have had before Link's arrival was gone. All that was left were turbulent emotions, emotions that Sheik could not remember having before. He did not know how to deal with these new found feelings, therefore he did not address them. His last words died away and for a few minutes there was silence, a silence that seemed at the time to be louder than any other sound that might have been heard.

Both stood in silence, one watching the other, the other waiting. Finally Link spoke. "Do you know what your words just implied Sheik?"

Crimson met cornflower. "Of course I do."

A small smile worked it's way through Link's lips. "Then we shouldn't have a problem."

Sheik's eyes widened slightly as Link quickly closed the gap between them and threw his arms around Sheik, satin caressing silk as their lips touched. Energy lanced between their bodies in the places where flesh touched flesh. It seemed to swirl and dance about them, spreading throughout the realm as the two worshiped each other. Platinum and gold, crimson and cornflower, two bodies entwining around each other, blissfully unaware of all that surrounded them.

And while that realm rejoiced in their union, there was another that prepared to destroy them....

Zelda awoke that night with a start. _Link... oh no._

She ran hurriedly through the halls of the castle, dressed in her nightgown and a robe that she had quickly thrown over herself, ocarina in hand, heading towards the Temple of Time.

Din smiled gleefully. Everything was working perfectly. Soon everything would be as it should.

Farore calmly waited for the return of her descendant. Once Link was given back his life again, the memory of His trickery would disappear.

Nayru frowned. She didn't like tricking her descendant. Nothing good could come of this.

The Fierce Deity awoke with a start to the sound of a soothing melody that echoed horribly through the very walls of his Citadel. He recognized that tune... but why would-

And then he realized who would be playing and why. A horrible tune, created by Nayru that would send one back in time permanently.

Link's body stirred against his own and the Hero of Time's eyes opened sleepily. "Sheik... what's going on? I feel funny."

Sheik felt his anger rising against his control, as Link's body began to glow. They were sending him back in time, so far back that everything of this life would be a shadowed memory. Sheik wanted to scream, wanted to shout, wanted to cry as he felt the magic begin to encircle Link, despite the constant stream that he was emitting, trying to stop it. But the song's cheerful notes continued, and Sheik felt his magic slam up against a wall, one he remembered too well, one he had fought against before. The goddesses had made a mistake yet again in that they underestimated the power of Nayru's descendant. Instead of sending only Link back in time, Zelda had sent Sheik back as well... back to his imprisonment in the same mask she had freed him from. But since Gannandorf would not exist in this time, the mask would never be sold to Impa in Hyrule... no he would stay in Termina. But Sheik would wait...

_Sheik would wait for an eternity if he had to._

**The End**

_**NOW BEFORE ANYONE MURDERS ME IN MY SLEEP FOR THIS, READ THE NOTE! **Sheesh, yes this is the end of the story. Reign was to connect Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask in a different way, with a Sheik and Link romance which is tragic because of the way the world works, and the fact that Majora's Mask has to happen. Ya know, keeping the story cannon, if you want to know the terminology. HOWEVER, I have written an epilogue or "add-on second ending" to satisfy everyone who wants the pair to live happily-ever-after (and secretly I'm one too). I'm sure anyone who's thinking noticed that Sheik's mask is not moving from Termina... see what I'm getting at?_

_The epilogue/alternative ending takes place after all the events in Majora's Mask._

**The Reign of Something Different**

_Epilogue_

Link looked carefully at the designs of the mask he held in his hands, the war paint so familiar, the contours of the face as he ran his hands over carved wood seeming as if he should know them. And he should... after all he had used the mask of the Fierce Deity... but this felt different, and had felt different ever since he had acquired the mask. But what was so strange about it?

The eyes of the wooden mask seemed to pierce into his own, as if they burned with their own fire in the crimson orbs. Familiar eyes, eyes he was sure he had seen for real... somewhere.

These eyes haunted his sleep, sometimes full of sadness as they watched him from the dark shadows of his nightmares, sometimes full of joy as he dreamed of something pleasant. But always they watched him. Why? What did he not know? He was one of the few who remembered the details of a darker Hyrule, when he had fought Gannandorf seemingly so long ago. The sages remembered only in their dreams, but he remembered every detail. He remembered falling for Sheik, foolishly of course. Sheik did not exist, was only a frigment of Zelda's imagination. But...

Link looked at the eyes again. These were Sheik's eyes looking back at him, he was sure of it. And if these were Sheik's eyes, then Sheik's eyes and the eyes of the Fierce Deity were one and the same. Link blinked slowly as the cataracts opened and memories flowed down and around him. Sheik, the Fierce Deity, were one and the same, imprisoned by the Goddesses in a mask... until Zelda freed him. Well, if Zelda could do it, why couldn't he?

The triforce on his hand glowed with it's ungodly light, and Link braced himself as the power flowed through him, reaching out through the wall of wood and paint, to wind around another's power, pulling substance from space, a soul from void, life from unliving.

Link happily collapsed into strong arms as Sheik held him. Kisses rained down upon his lips and face as joy overtook them both.

"I love you Sheik." Link murmured, seeing the crimson eyes he'd dreamed of so many times light with joy.

"I would have waited an eternity for you to release me Link." Sheik murmured back. "And now we can spend an eternity together."

**The End**

_(for real this time)_

_Wow, this took so much longer than I planned for it to take, but it's finally done. Thank you soo much to all the reviewers who stood by this story and ever so patiently kicked my rear into action when it was needed. It truly was a joy to write this. If someone knows of a plot bunny they would love to see become a fic, but feel they do not want to be the one to write it, I would be happy to do so. I would send the chapters through the requester almost like a beta for the plot line before I post it, and in my disclaimer I would say who the plot came from. So until I'm hit with another Link/Sheik plot bunny I'll say good-bye to you all and return to my work on my other stories._

_Signed,_

_the_

**Flower of Black Fire**


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